Archive for the 'Lebron James' Category

BASEBALL

New York Mets pitcher Jacob DeGrom beat out Matt Scherzer (who has won 3 times already) to win his first National League Cy Young Award. DeGrom had a 1.70 ERA and almost unanimously won the award with 29 of 30 first place votes. Tampa Bay Rays’ Blake Snell won the coveted award for the American League, edging out Houston Astros Justin Verlander. Verlander also finished in second place in 2016 (and Major League Baseball got a lashing on twitter from his now wife Kate Upton who was upset because two writers didn’t even have Verlander on their ballot).

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LeBronJames made history Wednesday night by passing Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time scoring list. LeBron now has 31,425 career points. LeBron recorded 44 points in the game and will donate the game jersey and ball to the I Promise School in Akro, Ohio. Even though it was an historic night for LeBron, and the Lakers got the win over the Portland Trailblazers, the team also learned when they returned to the locker room that their backup point guard, Rajon Rondo, will be out for the next several weeks due to a fractured hand. No word yet on whether he’ll require surgery. Lakers 126, Trailblazers 117.

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The big news in the NBA was Jimmy Butler’s return to practice with his team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Butler asked for a trade three weeks ago and has made it clear he’s not happy (apparently the team didn’t previously use their cap space to make a deal with him). At practice on Wednesday, Butler showed his frustration with the team and yelled to their GM Scott Layden, “You f—ing need me, Scott. You can’t win without me.” The Miami Heat remain interested in talks to acquire Butler.

In a meaningless pre-season game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, new Laker LeBron James added some much-anticipated star power and excitement. LeBron lit up the arena with 15 points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes of play, including a buzzer beater three-pointer before halftime. It was also the Lakers’ Lonzo Ball’s first game coming back from knee injury, and after a slow start, wow’d the crowd with a perfectly timed alley-oop from LeBron.

FOOTBALL

The NFL announced they’ve had significantly fewer arrests of their players over the last four years. According to the league, they’ve cracked down on punishments for domestic abuse and instituted services for the prevention of drunk driving. For example, the league partnered with Lyft car service allowing active players to receive $250 in credits.

FOOTBALL

Roquan Smith, the linebacker out of Georgia and number 8th overall pick in the NFL draft, remains the only unsigned first-round draft pick. According to the Chicago Bears coach, Matt Nagy, the holdout has to do with the NFL’s new helmet rule, where players can get ejected if they use their helmet to “butt, spear, or ram an opponent.” Smith’s contract stipulates he could lose guaranteed money if he gets suspended due to the rule. Many involved in the details of this issue believe the helmet rule makes sense on some level (even though could be tough to enforce), but the Bears have dug in on this issue which has Smith, his agents (and some in the media) upset.

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LeBron James hinted he may take on President Trump in 2020. He told CNN “I don’t know. I may… if they [The Democratic Party] have no one, I believe there may be someone… I may [run]. Let’s see.” LeBron has often been very critical of Trump and said, “Our president is using sport to divide us and that’s something I can’t relate to. Sport was the first time I was around someone white, and I got the opportunity to learn about them and them about me. Sport brings [people] together.” LeBron has been a big proponent of education reform and recently opened his “I Promise” school for at-risk kids.

GAMING

Many parents try to get their children to stop playing video games all day, but the gaming craze is getting more serious (with scholarships to colleges on the line), and some parents are anteing up to get their kids to be the best. The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted how parents are paying coaches to work with their children to become better Fortnite players. One parent said, “There’s pressure not to just play it but to be really good at it. You can imagine what that was like for him at school.” According to reports, over 125 million people worldwide play Fortnite.

BASEBALL

Six new baseball legends were inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday. Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Alan Trammell, Trevor Hoffman and Jack Morris. In an emotional moment at the beginning of the ceremony, Thome teared up watching his 15 year old daughter sing the National Anthem.

Two more Major League Baseball players had their past racial and homophobic tweets uncovered. Fans have seen recent tweets from Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader (who disgustingly got a standing ovation in his last game pitching), and now Atlanta Braves Sean Newcomb and Trea Turner have been exposed. Newcomb tried to explain himself and said, “This is something that obviously can’t be happening. I feel bad about it. I don’t mean to offend anybody. I definitely regret it.”

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LeBron James will hold a news conference today announcing the launch of his foundations’ “IPromise” school. The school will team with Akron Public Schools and focus on helping kids who need extra academic assistance. LeBron spoke about his passion for making sure at risk kids don’t fall through the crack. He also spoke about his decision to move to LA. He said, “This is kind of like a dream come true for me. You know, growing up, I was a Cowboys fans, I was a Bulls fan, I was a Yankees fan, and I’ve always felt like that was one of the historic franchises. You look at the Lakers, and being able to play for a historic franchise, with so much history, you know? And now being able to partner with Magic Johnson, someone I kind of like looked up to when I was younger, you know, and wanted to make no-look passes like Magic, wanted to get on the break and be ‘Showtime’ like Magic, and then for it to all come to fruition at this point, I think timing is everything.”

BASEBALL

The Yankees suffered some bad news last night when outfielder Aaron Judge was hit by a fastball while at bat against Kansas City Royals pitcher Jakob Junis. Judge is expected to be out for 3 weeks which is rough for the team considering he’s a big hitter and the Yankees are only 4 1/2 game behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

In anticipation of another playoff run, the Chicago Cubs acquired pitcher Cole Hamel from the Texas Rangers. Hamel has had a disappointing season so far for the Rangers but has playoff experience and also performs better outside of Texas so looks like it could be a good trade for the Cubs.

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LeBron James‘s new HBO Show called “The Shop” debuts on August 28th. It’s a barber-shop style talk show, and in the first episode LeBron talks about the pressure his son must feel on the court being named LeBron Jr. He said, “Obviously, when I was younger, I didn’t have a dad. So my whole thing was like, ‘Whenever I have a kid, not only is he going to be a junior, I’m going to do everything that this man didn’t do.’ ”

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After months of speculation, the wait is over and LeBron James has made his decision. He is taking his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers. The press release read, “LeBron James, four time NBA MVP, three time NBA finals MVP, fourteen time NBA All Star, and two time Olympic gold medalist has agreed to a four year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.” According to reports, LeBron’s family is excited to be in LA. The transition should be easy for him as he already has two homes there. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert posted a classy letter in response to LeBron leaving the team, saying “We look forward to the retirement of the famous #23 Cavs jersey one day down the line.”

In other NBA news, the Warriors Kevin Durant agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors (with a second-year option) for $30 million for 2018/19 and $31.5 million for the option year. And rounding out the weekend’s high profile news, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George agreed to stay with the team for a four-year $137 million deal.

WORLD CUP

Russia and Croatia advance to the World Cup quarterfinals after exciting penalty kick shootouts. Both countries goalkeepers prevented Spain and Denmark from advancing to the quarterfinals. Russia is the host country but also the lowest ranked team in a field of 32, so the win over Spain is a huge victory. Russia will now play Croatia on Saturday.

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The basketball world continues to speculate on where many players will end up this off-season. Back to back Finals MVP Kevin Durant can become an unrestricted free agent after June 29th if he declines his current $26.3 million player option. The Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers told reporters Durant can sign any contract he wants to stay with the team. He said, “Sometimes you don’t negotiate. I’d love to have him for 10 years. Kevin Durant, look what he did for us last year, he did us a great service, so he’s earned the right to sign whatever deal he wants.”

Landing LeBron James would be a huge coup and a few teams seem to be early favorites to sign him: LA Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Houston Rockets. LeBron’s buddy Dwayne Wade (who insists he doesn’t have any inside info) spoke about LeBron’s decision and said , “I think at this point in his life, it’s more so of a lifestyle thing of where my family is going to be the most comfortable and where I’m going to be the happiest. Because basketball wise, he’s so great, he can bring along and take along whoever.”

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The Cavs host the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night for game 3 of the NBA Finals. We still have a few games left to determine the NBA Champion, but talk has already started on whether the winning team will be invited (and will agree to go) to the White House. LeBron (no fan of President Trump) weighed in by saying, “I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants the invite anyways. It won’t be Golden State or Cleveland going. Let’s not let someone uninviting you to their house take away from that moment. Because I think the championship – winning a Super Bowl or winning a Stanley Cup or winning a World Series or winning an NBA championship or national championship – is way bigger than getting invited to the White House, especially with him in there.”

FOOTBALL

In some NFL news, Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Carson Wentz, who tore his ACL last December, is reportedly doing well rehabbing and could be ready to play in the season opener.

Free-agent backup Safety, J.J. Wilcox shocked the San Francisco 49ers when he decided not to sign with the team (even though he agreed to a one year contract), and stated he’ll sign with the New York Jets instead.

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Cleveland needed a big game 4 to try and even the Eastern Conference finals with Boston, and thanks to a huge game from LeBron who put up 44 points, the Cavs defeated the Celtics 111-102. This was LeBron’s sixth 40-plus point game in the postseason, and he passed Kareem Abdul Jabbar for most made field goals in the postseason!!! Game 5 will be back in Boston on Wednesday 8:30 pm. ET

HOCKEY

The Washington Capitals force a game 7 vs the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals. This will be an uphill battle for Washington as they’ve only gone 4-11 all-time in game 7’s. Game 7 Wednesday 8:00 pm. ET.

FOOTBALL

According to reports, the NFL will announce Glendale, Arizona and New Orleans as the next hosts of Superbowls 2023 and 2024.

OTHER

Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon won the all-athlete version of Dancing with the Stars. Washington Redskins defensive back Josh Norman came in second with controversial and recently redeemed skater Tonya Harding rounding out third.

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The Boston Celtics rallied from a 22 point deficit to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night. Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier added 21 and 20 points respectively, while the Sixers J.J. Redick and Joel Embiid contributed 23 and 22 points to their team’s efforts. Unfortunately for Philly, their rookie phenom Ben Simmons only scored one point (the first time he hasn’t scored a field goal this entire season). After the game Simmons reflected on his disappointing night saying, “Mentally, just thinking too much. I’m going to have bad games. It happens. Obviously, it’s bad timing.” Celtics are now up 2-0 with game 3 back in Philly on Saturday night.

With an astounding 43 points, 14 assists and 8 rebounds from LeBron James and a big 31 points from Kevin Love, the Cleveland Cavaliers took a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Toronto Raptors.

HORSE RACING

The Kentucky Derby, often called the greatest two minutes in sports, takes place on Saturday at 6:46 pm ET. The two favorites for Saturday’s Run for the Roses, are Justify and Mendelssohn (both sired byScat Daddy, but for equines, they’re not considered related as they have different Dam’s (Mothers). For a recap of the 20 horses running, click here.